Teen Braves 'Adult' Tests For Black Belt

Baseball has always been Shane Letterio's first love. He also has a devotion to football. But when it comes to karate, Letterio owns a special love-hate relationship.

Last week at Altamonte Springs' Westmonte Center, the 16-year-old fought for the honor of earning his black belt. The Lake Mary athlete, who will be a junior this fall, survived the grueling two-hour test to become a first-degree black belt.

Letterio, 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds, admits he came away from the test feeling as if he had gone 15 rounds with a heavyweight fighter. He survived six sparring bouts, including one in which three black belt students came at him at once.

But Letterio says the toughest part of the testing was producing the solo jump kicks.

''You've got to maintain constant motion,'' Letterio said. ''The instructor is calling out instructions which must be followed.''

He would hate to do it again. But he would.

The testing was done by multi-degree black belt instructor Roland Tinkes. Former owner of Olympic Karate, Tinkes gives only private karate instruction. Starting the TaeKwonDo karate testing of Letterio was what is known as balances, a series of different stances. Basic and advanced kicks preceded a series of kadas, or athletic style dances. Kadas, which last as long as 30 seconds, could involve as many as 50 different moves designed to halt several opponents. There were 16 different kadas Letterio had to complete.

Advanced kadas are followed by the jump kicks. Because he already had used much of his energy, Letterio believed completing the jump kicks was ''the toughest'' and most fulfilling part.

Before sparring were the one steps, where the person designs a defense to counter a one-punch attack.

Letterio said his favorite one-step counter is a scissors move in which he puts one leg on the chest of an attacker, the other on the back and then applies a squeeze.

Next was the sparring. The first three matches were against individual black belt holders. Then came a test against two, three and finally Tinkes. The entire sparring lasted 45 minutes with 25 minutes against Tinkes.

''He did a lot better than I expected,'' Tinkes said. ''He was treated as an adult and had to fight adults in the test.

''Our purpose was to break down his will to continue,'' Tinkes said. ''To test his very limit and then push him further. He kept digging down deep each time we pushed him.

''At times it bordered on being unmerciful,'' Tinkes said. ''In fact, I got so caught up in the testing that I forgot to give Shane the break he was supposed to have halfway through.

Lake Mary baseball coach Alan Tuttle watched the testing.

''I thought they really put him through a tough workout,'' Tuttle said. ''And then they began the sparring.''

''Not many people could endure this kind of test,'' Tuttle said. ''You've got to be in super condition. It's got to help him throughout his life. There's not much he could not endure after something like this.''

Following the sparring, Letterio finished the test with a series of board breaking.

First came a side kick where he had to break three boards being held by other black belt students.

Then came an open hand strike where he had to break two boards. That part was of particular concern to Tuttle because Letterio has been his star infielder, playing second baseman and shortstop, for the past two years.

The final board work was a round kick of two boards that had to be completed with the front of the foot.

A karate student for six years, Letterio originally was going to test for his black belt in 1983 but Tinkes closed his karate school.

''Looking back I wouldn't have been able to complete it,'' Letterio said. ''I just wasn't ready back then. I've matured a little.''

After the school closed, Letterio's karate ''career'' was put on hold for nearly a year and a half. In January of this year he decided to begin his preparation to earn the black belt.

''I don't know what made me decide to starting working at it again.'' Letterio said. ''When I first started I really didn't like karate. I began enjoying it when I earned my first brown belt.''

Letterio earned his fourth-degree brown belt in 1980. He had to go through shorter testing periods to earn fourth, third, second and first degrees in the brown belt before working to get his black belt.

His father, Gene Letterio, says he started his son in karate to help instill self confidence.

Karate, Letterio said, has helped him in baseball and football.

''In football it helps me with my footwork and my judgement as a quarterback,'' Letterio said. ''Karate helps create the instincts to make the proper judgments.''

In baseball, Letterio, a player on the Altamonte Springs Senior World Series championship team last year, said karate helps his balance and ability to get a jump on the ball in the infield.